


I don't have to, but I want to

by elletromil



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Fluff, Harry Hart Lives, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-14 20:32:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4579035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elletromil/pseuds/elletromil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Try and get some rest, okay?”</p><p>The temptation of making a snide comment was strong because there was actually little else that Harry could do, but it would have demanded more energy than he had to spare.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I don't have to, but I want to

**Author's Note:**

> So this yet another answer to an anonymous prompt from last week-end (I only got one more of those to answer and yup, seeing as I'm absolutely in love with the last prompt it's sure to be posted here too, I just have to, ya know, actually finish writing the damn thing) and it's actually the first one I wrote but I kind of forgot about it, busy that I was writing the others.
> 
> The prompt was "Hartwin prompt? Eggsy takes care of Harry when he first gets out of the hospital after a bad injury... maybe after the church scene?" and if there surely could have been more taking care of in the fic than it ended up having, I still quite like the end result.

Harry sighed with relief when Eggsy helped him lie down on the bed. Not any bed either, but his own, and Harry would probably be basking into the feeling of being out of Kingsman’s infirmary and finally in his bed if his head hadn’t felt like it was splitting in two just from the short journey out the taxi to his front door and from the door to his bedroom upstairs.

“Do you need anything?” Eggsy’s voice was barely above a whisper, meaning he had probably noticed Harry’s frown of pain and rightfully deduced it was due to a headache. He tried replying that no, the only thing that could help right now were painkillers and that unfortunately he had already taken them before their trip home, but the only sound that came out was a grunt that could only be interpreted as negative. “Okay then. I’ll see if there’s anything left here for me to cook us a little something. Try and get some rest, okay?”

The temptation of making a snide comment was strong because there was actually little else that Harry could do, but it would have demanded more energy than he had to spare. That and he could not possibly have stayed angry at Eggsy when the boy oh so gently ran fingers through his hair and for one blissful moment it was as if all the pain Harry was feeling had been drained with that one tiny contact.

Of course as soon as the hand had left his hair, the headache had come back with a vengeance, but Eggsy had left before Harry could ask him to stay.

*

He must have dosed off despite the pain, probably due to the painkillers, because the next thing he knew, he was woke up when Eggsy came back into his room. The boy had somehow located the tray he used on the rare days he elected to eat in bed and laid it on the floor before approaching the bed.

By some miracle, he did not open neither the overhead light nor the one at his bedside, the light coming from the corridor through the open door more than enough for him to see where he was going.

He smiled when he noticed Harry was already awake. “I’ve made us some sandwiches. Want help getting up?”

He would have liked nothing more than to say no, that he was able to take care of himself, had done so for many years, but any wrong move would have made pain flare up from where he had been stabbed in the shoulder with a knife and if his headache was more tolerable he feared the change in position would prove to be too much.

“If you would be so kind,” he said in a croaking voice, but at least he was able to form words now.

Carefully Eggsy helped him sit up then went to fetch the tray before he sat on the vacant side of the bed. From anyone one else such presumption would have earned them a deadly glare from Harry, but now that he had finally stopped denying that what he felt for the boy ran deeper than mere fondness, he had very little doubts it would only make him more lenient regarding the liberties Eggsy took when in his company.

They ate in silence, Eggsy making sure Harry was taking his fair share but at least he did not say a thing when Harry’s hands started shaking from exhaustion.

After bringing the tray downstairs and probably cleaning the few dishes they had used if the time it took Eggsy to come back to the room was anything to go by, Eggsy presented him with two choices.

“Either it’s more rest or I could draw you a bath.”

The idea of a bath was very appealing but not enough to actually tempt Harry out of his bed. The fact that he had been cleared to return home did not meant he wasn’t still weak and now that he had eaten, he knew it would not take long before he fell right back to sleep.

“I think I’ll sleep some more.”

“All right.” The young man came closer to help him lie back down and Harry really should be too old to feel comfort from the action, but he would have been a liar if he had said it wasn’t nice to have Eggsy tucked the blankets around him. “I’ve left your glasses on the nightstand and I’ll put the sound on mine at maximum, so if you need anything just say it. I’ll be down the hall in the guestroom.”

“Thank you.”

There was an aborted movement from Eggsy, as if he had been about to lean down close to Harry, but he ended up just running his fingers in his hair again before exiting the room.

*

Harry ended taking a bath while Eggsy was preparing breakfast the next day, the warm water doing wonders for the soreness he still felt. People would think that after so much time spent on bedrest, one would feel more relaxed, but when the result of said bedrest was being headshot after going on a rampage in a church full of people the reality was quite the opposite.

Eggsy helped him from one room to the other, but thankfully for his pride, it was the extent of his help. He wasn’t sure how he would have felt if Eggsy had had to help him undressed and clean himself. The boy was already doing far more than he should.

Eggsy left him alone for a while, coming back with tea, toasts and his medication. Even if Harry didn’t like the drowsy feeling it left him with, he knew it was still too soon to think about cutting off. He didn’t want a repeat of yesterday’s migraine and he knew that the low-key pain he could presently ignore was only waiting for a chance to bloom into something intolerable.

Eggsy was chatting about going to the shop to stock up on groceries and about maybe helping Harry to the sofa later if the man felt like it. Not that Harry was supposed to be out of bed, but no one would blame him to want a little change in scenery.

“You don’t have to do all this you know,” he cut off Eggsy mid-sentence once he was done with his toasts. Because even if Eggsy had turned out to be an amazing nurse, not that Harry was truly surprised to see the young man flourishing in a role were he had _carte blanche_ to care for someone, he was still going beyond what Harry would have expected of him.

Eggsy did not insult him by pretending he did not understand what Harry was talking about. “I know I don’t have to, but I want to,” something in the set of his jaw made him look determined, as if he wouldn’t budge from his position, “and I’m not doing it out of some fucked up feeling of obligation to you.”

He flinched, recognizing the blow for what it was.

“Eggsy…” He started, but failed to think of how to continue. The thing about saying things out of anger was that even though they were very rarely true, they still had a basis in reality. Even if all he had done for Eggsy had been for the boy himself, the catalyst of his action had at first been his guilt over Lee’s sacrifice. Nothing would change that. However, there was still something he had yet to do. “I’m sorry. I should not have lost my temper.”

Eggsy only reaction was a scoff and a roll of his eyes. Harry could practically hear the unspoken ‘you don’t say’.

“And even if this started out because of the favor I owed your family, never doubt that everything I did afterwards was mainly for your sake. I won’t lie and say I wouldn’t have gained a certain amount of pleasure in proving Arthur’s classicism wrong and that I don’t feel any pride at being the one who offered you the opportunity to rise to your true potential, but I truly care for you beyond that.”

He feared he had said too much until Eggsy break into a gentle smile. “I actually knew that, but it’s always nice to hear.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at him. “You knew, did you?” Not that he had ever been particularly subtle in his affection, but most people did not feel as confident about someone else’s feelings after a row such as the one they had.

“Sure. You don’t get that angry at someone if you don’t care a lot.” He winked before chuckling when Harry responded with a falsely exasperated shake of his head.

“Now that we’ve made clear you won’t get out of having me as a nursemaid, I’ll be off to the shop. I don’t want to eat more sandwiches than I have to.”

Before the boy was out of reach, he gripped his wrist to delay his departure. Eggsy turned to him, interrogation written all over his face, but Harry waited a moment to make sure he truly had all of his attention and that there would be no mistaking his sincerity. “Thank you Eggsy.”

The gentle smile was back, but if Harry had thought it was a sight to behold, it was nothing compared to the feeling of it brushing against his forehead.

Eggsy leaned back, cheeks a bit rosy, but his eyes shining with determination, as if challenging him to say anything.

And even if it that kiss meant they would need to have a serious discussion sooner rather than later, now was not the time, so Harry only gave a small nod and did not try to stop his own smile.


End file.
